Toys 'R' Us' Geoffrey Offered a New Gig

In this 1996 file photo, a woman pushes a shopping cart over a graphic of Toys R Us mascot Geoffrey the giraffe at the store in Raritan, NJ. (AP Photo/Daniel Hulshizer, File)

(Newser)
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With the closing of all US Toys 'R' Us stores, mascot Geoffrey is headed for the unemployment line. But not so fast: The San Antonio Zoo wants the defunct toy chain to shift its famous giraffe to a new gig, that of conservation ambassador for, well, giraffes. As CNN reports, the zoo wants Toys 'R' Us to donate the rights to Geoffrey so that he can use his celebrity to preserve the fewer than 100,000 of his flesh-and-blood brethren left on the planet.

"This is a chance for Geoffrey and the great people at Toys 'R' Us to leave a legacy gift that has the potential to change the world and bring smiles to children for generations to come," the zoo writes in a GoFundMe seeking to raise $100,000. It has a ways to go: It's at about $1,300 as of this writing. (An anonymous shopper recently bought out an entire Toys 'R' Us for $1 million.)

"the zoo writes in a GoFundMe seeking to raise $100,000. It has a ways to go: It's at about $1,300 as of this writing." No worries..I'm sure all those snowflakes crying over the girl who's picture was posted posing with a giraffe she shot on safari will empty their pockets for this cause.

Audioboom

Jul 5, 2018 5:57 AM CDT

Do they really want the mascot of a failed company to be the symbol of their efforts to save giraffes?